The Darkest Heart: A Short Story
by KG555
Summary: An untold tale. An uncomfortable tragedy. This is the story that should never have happened. Yet, it is forgotten, buried within the Forbidden Archives. Welcome. Tread carefully.


**WARNING: This is a short story that contains multiple potential triggers and controversial topics. Reader discretion is strongly advised. This is a work of fan fiction. All credits go to J. K. Rowling.**

* * *

WELCOME TO THE FORBIDDEN ARCHIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL INFORMATION AND MEMETICS SECURITY. PLEASE PROVIDE TWO ARTICLES OF IDENTIFICATION FOR SECURITY PURPOSES.

(Puts wand down onto the surface)

IDENTITY CONFIRMED TO CARRY TOP-LEVEL MINISTRY CLEARANCE. HOW MAY WE BE OF ASSISTANCE TO YOU TODAY?

"I'd like to access information pertaining to Hogwarts."

ACKNOWLEDGED. ACCESSING HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY SECTION…ONE ENTRY FOUND. TITLE: THE DARKEST HEART.

"Proceed with access."

ACKNOWLEDGED. ONE MOMENT PLEASE…

* * *

"Well done, Jessie! How ingenious of you to think of a wedding dress for a ghoul! Well done!"

The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's uninhibited praise resonated with another round of cheers, applause, and occasional laughter engulfing the DADA classroom filled with third years. The marvelous sunshine outside the castle walls belied what was hidden behind the closed curtains, where twenty or so students stood in a line, single file, confronted with their deepest fears in front of a trembling cabinet with a mirror. The DADA professor – a poised man in a neat suit, looking quite confident yet with a sly grin every now and then – loved to laugh and cheer with his students and boasted when they were successful in their learning.

"Some of you lot before Watson had trouble with the boggart, I see. But at the end of the day, it's no big deal at all," he said, beaming at the line of students in front of him, "I mean, just think of the most ridiculous thing you can. The spell's incantation is literally that: _Riddikulus!_"

The classroom returned him with another round of laughter, all except for a Ravenclaw boy in the front of line who was after Jessie Watson, a forced grin on his face.

"Now, who do we have here next?" the professor staggered for a second yet attempted his best to stay composed, "I apologize for likely saying it wrong but…Eatin' Dung, is it?"

"It's Yee-Ting Dong, sir," the boy in the front replied, taking half a step forward without breaking eye contact with the professor, as some of the students behind him let out some light chuckles. The classroom fell quiet at once lest for some slight murmurs coming from the very back of the line.

* * *

Despite his rather unconventional appearance, Yiting (his name's actual spelling) was never someone who wanted to stand out from the rest of the fellow students of his house. Yet, he often found himself under the inevitable spotlight, or lack thereof. Upon boarding the Hogwarts Express back when he was a first year, no other students sat with him for a while in his compartment. Later, he was joined by his sister Mei, who was four years senior to him, along with her boyfriend Mark Turner, but was soon left alone again till the locomotive arrived at Hogwarts. Although he hardly ever minded the solitude that he found to almost always accompany him, he found it particularly weird and rather perturbed that he was always referred to by his fellow Ravenclaws as the "Geek of the Orient." In all honesty and innocence, he didn't know whether to take it as a praise or a derision. All the while, he's always heard his older sister being one of the most popular girls of her year amongst countless boys, conjuring plenty of jealousy with other girls who invariably gave her ample pranks and grievances, albeit she managed to fend them off quite well. Despite being happy for her unintended and intriguing popularity, Yiting personally knew her to be not so charismatic, at least compared to the other girls who teased her. Rather, he knew Mei as shy, a little funny, with some quirks when it came to her choice of clothes when going off to Hogsmeade – nothing he deemed special or derailing from that of an ordinary girl of her age. All the while, he's heard boys constantly turning their heads as she passed them by in the corridors, as well as being called nicknames such as a "Chinese Pixie" or an "Oriental Mermaid." Whenever he asked her how she felt about being called these so-called nicknames, she always responded with an awkward smile along the lines of: "It's okay, I guess."

Both of Yiting's parents were Chinese refugees who settled in the outskirts of Oxford. His father was a famous Chinese wizard who was adept in the ancient mythical practice of the Dao – an exotic form of magic viewed by much of the British Wizarding community. He was forced to flee the country due to an unintentional breach of secrecy when one of his associates, for reasons unknown, betrayed him by revealing his location to local Anti-Witchcraft Magua (the Chinese word for Muggles) Essentialist groups. His wife, a muggle who worked at a tailor who was almost nine-months pregnant at the time, was forced to flee with Yiting's father. Out of desperation, they used a series of floo networks – some legal while most not – to hop through multiple intermediary destinations, often closely evading capture by local authorities. The journey lasted almost a month. By the time the couple has arrived in London, Yiting's mother was at her limits and was forced to give birth to Yiting's sister at a deserted underground station platform close to midnight.

Yiting was a cerebral and inquisitive boy from the start. He went to Diagon Alley with his father at the age of five and visited all the bookstores he could find at once, causing a series of head-turns and polite smiles from other customers. After scouring through all the bookstores, he managed to convince his father to buy him a copy of _Extreme Incantations_ out of interest that he kept under his pillows even to this day.

Although his interests shifted more towards dueling and defense against the dark arts as he got older, his justice-filled intellect and values never left him afar. On a fine summer's day when he was eight, he overheard a series of shouting going on in an abandoned alley while walking several blocks away from his home. When he approached, he found his Muggle-born neighbor Alison Burke – a petite girl about his age with blonde hair, light freckles with always a pigtail – cornered by three older boys. They derided her muggle-born status, calling her what he now calls the "M" word, as she knelt in a corner, beginning to sob. Yiting decided to step in and confront the bullies. Upon approaching them and asking them to stop, however, the three boys turned around and let out initial expressions of bewilderment, which then quickly turned into almost satisfying-looking grins.

"Look who we got here boys," one of the bullies pouted, "we've got the chinky half-blood who's here to save the maiden in distress!"

Yiting was slightly taken aback, for he didn't know who any of the boys were, yet they recognized him for being half-blood. Moreover, he has never heard of the word "chinky" before, yet his instincts told him that it had a derogatory vibe.

"How do you know I'm half-blood?" Yiting enquired loudly, trying his best to sound confident with his prepubescent voice.

"You have a sister – Mei, is she called?" one of the other bullies asked, "She's told my friend and he told me all about it!"

"Yeah, she's told _my_ friend who told me, too," the third bully stepped forward, "I don't know what's gotten in her, but I heard she is like bowtruckles on doxy eggs with a lot of the boys there,"

"Yeah, that's how we got to know you, you little chinky clabbert," said the first bully with a pompous grin.

The three of them then burst into laughter. Being the innocent boy despite not knowing some of the colloquial yet seemingly derogatory terms he had heard, Yiting took a deep breath, stepped forward half a step, and enunciated,

"I will protect Ally like how I protect my sister!"

The three bullies looked at Yiting for a second, then burst into even more laughter. Yiting had his fists clenched, almost as if preparing for a brawl.

"Protect her?" One of the bullies asked, with a look that could only be described as disdain, "With what, exactly?"

"Yeah, with what?" another bully added.

"You've got a wand or something?" the third bully asked, pointing a finger towards Yiting. Before he could respond though, the bully added, "How long is it? Oh wait…you don't even have a wand!"

The trio of bullies burst into a cacophonous laughter a third time. Yiting inadvertently stuck his hand into his pocket and, indeed, there was no wand there, since he still wasn't of age to acquire one. His eyes filled with indignation as he watched the bullies laugh, though they seemed to be laughing a little excessively at his lack of a magical tool.

"I will get one when I turn eleven," said Yiting, clenching his fists again, "Then I will duel you!"

The three seemed to ignore him.

"Merlin's under-! Th-this is too good!" one of the bullies stuttered through his extreme laughter.

"Let's get out of here boys," the first bully signaled for the trio to leave, "We've had so much more fun with this one than we ever did with that Mudblood!"

Still giggling, the three bullies quickly stepped past Yiting and left the alley. Yiting, feeling both fiery and a little confused, turned to look at Alison, who still sobbed in the corner. She looked up slowly but avoided eye contact with Yiting. He walked over to comfort her.

"Are you okay, Ally?" he asked with a soft voice, still a little shaken.

"I think I'm fine," said Alison, still looking away at what Yiting could perceive as a blank wall, "Thank you, I guess,"

Yiting sensed some hesitation in her voice. Still, he didn't ponder much back then and made a little grin.

"Yeah, yeah, not at all. Any time!" He said, sounding rather awkward. He reached out his hand to pull Alison back up. However, Alison seemed to ignore his hand and pushed herself off the ground instead. Yiting groaned slightly, but he didn't want to come off as being patronizing. The two stood there in silence for a few seconds, where Yiting felt like he wanted to say something yet didn't know what to say, while he thought the same with Alison. When he was about to ask her how she got into this mess, she suddenly looked directly at him and asked aloud,

"Is it true, that you have no wand?"

That question out of the blue struck Yiting like a lightning bolt. Slightly stunned yet feeling a jarring confusion, he replied,

"Of course not! I mean, you don't either, do you? We haven't turned eleven yet,"

"I know, but I'm not talking about _that_ wand," said Ally, still looking at Yiting with fearful eyes, though he could also see a slight disgust brewing in the back. Still innocent and confused, he asked,

"What wand are you talking about then?"

Allison darted her eyes to the side, seemingly distracted with a sudden onset of thoughts. Then, she never looked at Yiting in the eyes again,

"Never mind. I thought my friends were just joking,"

Without another word, she quickly left the alley and disappeared in no time. Yiting thought he heard a little chuckle under her breath as she turned the corner into a brisk-walk and felt an utmost sense of dreadful confusion. Upon returning home and telling his father about the incident, he quickly learned everything.

"Don't be too upset, son," Yiting's father said, putting a firm hand on his son's shoulder, "These kids are simply being kids – childish and all. There's no need to take their words seriously,"

"But father!" Yiting cried out loud, "How could they say such things to me? What would you have done if you were me?"

His father paused for a second, looking out the window whilst thinking to himself. Then, upon turning his head back towards his almost tearful son, he responded didactically,

"Hide those tears, son. They won't benefit you. There are many things out there in the world that neither mother nor I could control. We wizards are already living a segregated life from the maguas, but there are far more…ancient forces at play here, my son."

"But father!" Yiting cried out again, pleading this time, "You still haven't answered me!"

Yiting's father let out a sigh and held out one of his arms.

"Come here,"

Yiting obliged, grasping his father's hand.

"In Daoist magic, two of the key pillars we adhere to the most are humility and compassion,"

"What do they have to do with…"

"Let me finish, my son," Yiting's father continued calmly, "We harness the elements and power them via these very pillars that we channel through our emotions to make the greatest magic in the world. You can do the same, my son. With compassion and humility, you can discard these inferior verbal curses and replace them with something much more honorable."

Yiting listened to his father intently. Honestly, he didn't understand everything he was talking about, for he has grown up with books of spells from Britain and was therefore much more accustomed to them rather than his father's orthodox prowess. However, he did take two of his words to heart: Compassion and humility. From then on, he always carried those two words around him like a pair of amulets, not fulling understanding them yet faithful that they would protect him.

Disappointments abounded. Onwards from that fateful day when he was eight, Yiting became increasingly conscious of his appearance and noticed how he and his family looked quite different from those around him. He started to also notice that he got treated differently, was turned down at gatherings, and was bullied into doing others' homework after he arrived at Hogwarts, perhaps all due to his differing appearance. Despite him reporting this to the professors for countless times, they never took any action against the bullies for a "lack of evidence." He found it extremely counterintuitive that, almost like polar opposites with his sister, he didn't have any friends or people who wanted to talk to him. All the while, his sister was a people magnet despite her shy and quiet nature, though most who gathered around her were boys from all four houses. When he triumphed over both games of wizard's chess and gobstones within his house, he was congratulated by his prefect with the phrase "magnificence from the ever-intriguing Orient." Being a nature with spell work, although he was frequently praised by various professors, Yiting was more often derided by other students as cheating with his "unique status" and couldn't win in a "real wand-fight." As it so happened, Yiting was not particularly gifted with flying or potions. As a result, he was always isolated in potion lessons when he asked others for help, being told that he could simply figure it all out. During flying lessons, he was sometimes derided by some spectating older students after class as "deserving" of riding on a broomstick, just like his sister.

_Compassion and humility. Compassion and humility. Compassion and humility._ Yiting always chanted those words to himself. However, at the bottom of his heart, he was always tempted to jinx those who derided him – though it seemed like that would be everyone at that point other than his family – with many of the spells he's learned.

Such a temptation finally erupted into an incident during Yiting's second year at Hogwarts. When being derided by two other students behind him while climbing the grand staircases, Yiting grasped his wand in his robe pocket and closed his eyes, ready to curse them both. At the last second, however, he repented. As his grip was loosening, however, he heard an incantation coming from behind him which alerted him to turn swiftly around and pull out his wand. However, no spell or curse came at him. Instead, he saw a mild flash of light before the two students who were deriding behind him were sent over the side of the staircase, about to fall off. Confused and shocked yet out of pure instincts, Yiting casted _Wingardium Leviosa_ and managed to slowly levitate the two students off the edge of the staircase. By that time, half the students on the staircases have stopped and stared, with a girl from below even letting out a lengthy shriek, which inevitably alerted the professors. When a few promptly arrived as the two students were dropped safely onto the staircase, they were initially astonished that Yiting was able to cast the levitation charm on another student, not to mention two, which required extensive prowess in magical calibre, especially for his age. Despite their praises, however, the two students whom Yiting helped to levitate hid their wands back into their pockets and started accusing him for cursing them first. Naturally feeling angry and misunderstood, Yiting retaliated arguing for his innocence. Feeling futile in quelling the dispute, the professors decided to send the two boys and Yiting to the headmaster's office, to which the three all reluctantly obliged. The argument seemed to reignite immediately upon the headmaster's presence, as both sides argued for their own. After about nearly half a minute of non-stop bickering, the headmaster stepped in, looked at all three boys with a modest expression, and announced the two boys and the professors who brought them all there to be dismissed. The two boys exited the headmaster's office trading glancing sneers at Yiting, as he was promptly left alone with the headmaster.

"But sir!" Yiting grew desperate as the door to the office banged shut, "How in Merlin can I prove to be innocent? I only tried to save their lives!"

"Calm yourself, Dong. Do calm yourself," the headmaster said with a cool demeanor. Yiting felt a respiteful silence engulfing the headmaster's office as soon as he obliged his request.

"Mr. Dong," the headmaster began, muttering with his head down, "It was indeed an unfortunate circumstance you have managed to find yourself in today, I'm afraid,"

Yiting frowned.

"What do you mean, professor?"

"I'm well aware of the numerous accusations you've made to the many teachers over the months regarding mistreatments you felt were imposed on you," said the headmaster, "Like the incident today, you felt unheard. You felt misunderstood,"

These words gave Yiting a spark of glinting hope. He thought the headmaster was insightful enough to understand all those misdeeds and mistreatments he has endured for as long as he could remember. He felt relieved.

"But just know that, Mr. Dong," the headmaster carried on, continuing to mutter under his breath, "All of these thoughts are mere illusions in your own head,"

It was as if a rock was dropped onto Yiting's stomach. He didn't necessarily feel a punch per se, but it was a nauseous feeling nonetheless; so much so that he became, in the moment, quite speechless.

"Many students go through all sorts of hardships during school. You are no different," said the headmaster, now looking up at Yiting in the eyes, "The many mistreatments you feel are caused by the mere progress of your growth, as well as that of all your friends,"

The last part almost made Yiting feel laughable, for he almost wanted to tell the headmaster head-on that he had no friends, but he retained his silence in apprehensive piety.

"You are a brilliant student, Dong. I'm sure you are," the headmaster leaned backwards a little, "but you could be more. With all your talents and merits from your parentage, surely you can triumph over others if you so wished."

Yiting was absolutely startled by what he heard. Instead of empathizing with him, the headmaster apparently only encouraged him to go further in a direction that has only brought him increasing disappointments.

"But sir, with all due respect," said Yiting, his voice trembling, "I don't think the issue here is as simple as not trying hard enough,"

"Dong," the headmaster suddenly beckoned, frowning while tilting his head to the side a little, "what is your parentage, again?"

Yiting hesitated but answered regardless.

"Oxford, sir,"

"Well, where are they originally from?"

Suddenly feeling quite cornered by these seemingly intrusive questions, Yiting sighed and answered.

"They are from China, sir,"

"Ah, I see," said the headmaster, glancing around the office, "There isn't a magical institution in China, I suppose?"

"I, I've never really looked into that, sir," said Yiting nervously, realizing his lack of familiarity regarding a land where he never grew up in.

"I've had some associates from Mahoutokoro, a school in Japan, but that is the only school in the Far Orient as much as I'm aware," said the headmaster, "You're fortunate to be attending Hogwarts, Mr. Dong,"

Yiting felt like he had a lot to take in during the moment, but the headmaster was unrelenting.

"As you may already be aware, you're…quite unconventional amongst the students here,"

"I'm well aware of that, professor," said Yiting, almost sounding a little aggressive, though the headmaster didn't appear to hear him or care.

"…which would only mean that you'd need to put in extra efforts to make yourself stand out if you aspire to anything awe-inspiring. I'm sure your parents have sent you here for a reason, Dong. I think they'd be aware of the value Hogwarts places in having faith to accept you into our school. You'd not want to fail them now, would you?"

A million thoughts were about to explode out of Yiting but, despite all he has heard, an austere feeling of futility latched onto his conscience.

"No, I wouldn't, professor,"

"So good," said the headmaster, "I think I've kept you here long enough. I'm sure you can find your way back to your classes,"

Yiting's stomach felt like it was starting to disintegrate. As he looked at the headmaster again, he found him giving Yiting a swift, polite smile. The next second, he began staring at a clock on a nearby shelf. Yiting wanted to question the headmaster, explain to him his many disagreements regarding what he has just said, as well as enquire about the many things he has told him. Nevertheless, seeing the unbreaking gaze the headmaster had on the clock, Yiting knew that he had no choice but to leave. As he stepped out the iron-clad office door, he could almost hear the headmaster calling out behind him, "Be grateful that you didn't lose house points over this, Dong,"

The incident ruminated at the back of Yiting's head for the rest of the day. As night approached and classes ended, he knew he had to tell it to someone – the only person he felt at that point who would genuinely listen to him. His sister. He managed to find her alone at the bottom of the Divination Tower, where she had her last lesson of the day, and told her everything.

"So, yeah," said Yiting, almost out of breath, "Galloping gargoyles, isn't it?"

"I mean," Mei looked rather uncomfortable, "I get you, brother, but you should just accept it,"

Yiting shook his head a little.

"I should…What?"

"I said: You should just accept…'"

"Yeah, I heard you, but I'm just bloody shocked!"

"There's no need to be so egotistical, little brother," said Mei, frowning a little, "You'd need to get off your high hippogriff sometimes,"

"Wait," Yiting was incredulous, his eyes widened, "so when have I become egotistical?"

Mei sighed.

"Don't you get it?" she pleaded, a little louder than usual, "There's no use arguing with them! Father would certainly not want to see you arguing like this. Mother would be worried sick, too. They are just who they are and…"

She suddenly paused.

"And what?" Yiting almost shouted.

"And, they're right," Mei said quietly.

Yiting's tongue felt tied, as air also refused to pass through his nostrils in that very moment. Words could no longer describe the paralytic horror he was bearing exposure to.

"You should've just minded your own business and left those boys to their own devices," Mei continued with a contemptuous stare, "They call you so and so. So what? The headmaster's also right about us being here. We've got nowhere else to go. Hogwarts is our home. It's the only place where there're people who can really accept us,"

Yiting shook his head violently and finally found his voice again,

"Well, you've been busy with a lot of guys lately, haven't you?" he retorted, "Perhaps you feel accepted. Perhaps you…"

"Oi Mei, that you?"

A brazen voice came from the far end of the deserted corridor. A tall, brunette seventh year-looking boy stood there, beaming at his sister.

"Coming sweetheart!" Mei shouted, almost sounding a little apologetic. Then, she made one final turn towards her brother and muttered to him intently,

"It's about time you've grown up, brother. You look like a complete wuss when you've got your wand in a knot,"

Upon her commentary, she made a little jog down the hallway to greet her boyfriend with a kiss on the lips, who was apparently not the same person Yiting saw on the Hogwarts Express a year before. Yiting stood there, numb. He knew in that instant that he was all alone, that he was mute. Tears welled up in his eyes, as anguish encircled his entrails and made him want to scream till the castle's walls cracked, yet no sound came out. He knew it was futile. Instead, all that flowed into his ears were his sister's fading laughter and her new boyfriend's fainting, ever amused voice:

_Ah…my sweet Dragon Girl…allow my wand to stupefy you, tonight…_

* * *

Yiting stepped forward as the classroom fell ever so silent. It was as if a spotlight automatically fell upon him, yet ironically, all that surrounded him was darkness. The boggart, upon bearing witness to the Ravenclaw boy in front of him, made a few blurry swirls and turns as usual and, oddly enough, split itself into a group of Hogwarts students. Yiting didn't recognize any of them, and neither did it seem the rest of the class did. Two girls, a blonde and a brunette, stepped forward.

"Oh, didn't see you there," the blonde one started, "You look a bit small from here,"

"Yeah," the brunette joined in promptly, "hopefully not as small as your wand!"

At once, sounds of laughter swallowed Yiting. Not only did he see the rest of the students created by the boggart laughing out loud, as it so happened, many of the students behind him also began to chuckle.

"Oh, I hope you're not so upset," the blonde one said with an obnoxious tone, "I'd hate to make this little sister cry,"

More laughter joined in from all sides, as Yiting's heart began to gallop, his teeth clenching as hard as he gripped his wand.

"Thinking of something funny?" said the brunette, "Why think when _you_ are such a joke?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either," the blonde one said, turning her head towards the group behind her, "what do you all think?"

"I think he's just trying to impress you two," said a deep-voiced boy from behind the two girls.

"Impress us?" said the brunette, "I think I'll only be impressed with his arithmancy before he can say 'Chinky chizpurfle',"

By that time, the classroom has turned into a riveting comedy show. Nearly everyone was laughing, or at least made some awkward cackles with their friends. The DADA professor was chuckling too, albeit quietly. Yiting clutched his wand so tightly that he thought he might break it.

"Don't worry, he won't dare steal the two of you," another boy stepped forward, his tall stature partially blocking in front of the blonde girl, "he'd be too busy calculating his tactics to even pull out his wand,"

"Ooh, you've gone a bit too far there! They're just third years, for Merlin's pants," said the blonde girl, peering up at the boy in front of him, "but I suppose we at least got his wand in a twist, haven't we?"

Cacophonous laughter now deafened Yiting's ears. His thoughts consumed by panic, his conscience disgraced, he raised his wand and yelled out the incantation,

_ "__Riddikulus!"_

Nothing happened. The group of students in front of him simply stared back, most of them laughing in his face. The laughter behind him, not abating, grew ever louder.

_ "__Riddikulus! Riddikulus!"_

Yet, nothing happened.

"You see," the brunette said, "you are powerless against us,"

"At least someone like your sister could still be useful," said another boy, dragging over a girl who could only be described as a doppelganger of Yiting's sister from behind him, "She brings us so much fun and joy. While you…what do you do? Work like house-elves yet thinking you're some erumpent in the room?"

"Forget it, you common goblin!" said yet another boy, "Don't try to eat your own wand over this, will you?"

"Hey, dung," yelled the professor from the side, half smirking and half holding himself back from uncontrollable laughter, "You'd need to think of something ridiculous to fend off the boggart. What's taking you so long?"

"Oh, I know what's taking you so long," the blonde girl interjected with a soft voice, "Your baby toadstool is finding it so hard to leap. After all, poisonous toadstools don't change their spots. Except yours…yours don't even have any,"

A boiling point has been reached. Yiting's thoughts have been drowned out of all dejections and exhilarations. He wanted out. He wanted it to end. He wanted everyone, who has, is, and will be deriding him, to just stop and see him for who he was, not who they thought he was. He knew it was useless. He knew they wouldn't relent. The image of a livestock has already been ingrained in their thoughts. They would never let it go.

Then, he remembered. He's overheard the three Unforgivable Curses in Knockturn Alley earlier in the year, as well as their unimaginable potency. He read ahead in a bookstore there and understood what each of them does. Yiting knew there was a reason why he came across those illegal spells. He knew this couldn't have been a coincidence.

_Compassion and humility. Compassion and humility._

Yiting raised his wand and pointed it at his right temple. The laughter and derision around him failed to cease. He closed his eyes, as a drop of tear finally escaped one of his sockets. He whispered,

_"__Avada…kedavra,"_

The DADA professor was too late to intervene when he realized what was happening. A bright flash of green light extinguished all laughter almost instantaneously. The boggart, seeing that its subject has deceased, decided to retreat into the wardrobe behind it. As Yiting's lifeless body collapsed onto the wooden floor, many of the girls in the classroom let out the most terrible screams. Everyone stared at the corpse in horror. No one laughed.

The news of Yiting's death spread like wildfire. By the end of the day, every single person within the castle has learned of the Ravenclaw's unfortunate early end. Rumors began spreading calling it an accident, that Yiting slipped over something and suffered severe head trauma. Most were over it the very next day. Upon learning her brother's untimely death, Mei was inevitably upset and cried in her boyfriend's lap for nearly half an hour. By the end of it though, he initiated to make her feel better in an abandoned girl's bathroom, to which she grudgingly agreed.

Yiting's father was understandably furious when he learned that his son has died. He immediately called upon a hearing at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and put the headmaster on trial. The hearing lasted about an hour, where both of Yiting's parents blamed the school to be ultimately responsible for their son's tragic death. Nevertheless, by the end of the hearing, their accusations were overruled, where the Wizengamot failed to recover evidences of relating Hogwarts School directly to the incident and emphasized that it would be in everyone's best interest to protect the school's integrity. Yiting's death was officially ruled as "death by accident." Despite his parents later attempting numerous appeals, they were ultimately turned down and, even at one point, coerced to leave the courtroom to make way for other judicial trials.

_This is the reason why one doesn't ever hear about student suicides occurring at Hogwarts. This is the reason why there have been so little students of Asian descent attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, particularly male students. No one outside the school can say for sure whether the two are interlinked. However, no matter any witch or wizard's belief, the phenomenon persists to this day._

* * *

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